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What I learned in China #2

As per my previous article on my visit to China, we have much to learn about and from their people. It is potentially the largest market on earth with 1.3 billion people in one country but much will depend upon the growth of a large and wealthy middle class. Wealth is not evenly distributed in China. Its economy is still only 20% the size of the United States. Our newspapers report a slowdown in China’s economy but it is just decelerating and not growing as fast. Wages and prices are rising fast in China and the smart ones are looking for better business models. The people I met are concerned about the slowdown and perhaps an opportunity for Canada has presented itself.

But first, we as Canadians must know how we can fit in. I discovered that they have an interesting viewpoint on Canada. The Chinese people I met know little about our huge country. Many were astonished when I told them our entire population was smaller than some of their cities. I took a map of BC with me and they all pored over it, expressing surprise that the population was so small, so thinly distributed and empty in the North Country.

And they like Canadians. They think Canada is boring, lazy but safe; a stable supplier and a people to be trusted. Above all, we are not Americans.

Much of what we have, the Chinese would like to have for themselves. Food safety is an issue in China. Our food quality is highly is regarded. One visitor to Kelowna told me that there is bakery in Hong Kong that proudly announces that all their goods are baked with Canadian flour.

But what the Chinese people do not understand yet is that we can be a conduit to the US and Europe for their goods. The two largest markets today are Europe and the US. Canada has good trading relations and a free trade arrangement with both. We understand the business climate in both our trading partners. We speak the language and share a culture. The Chinese do not.

Can we use this knowledge to build businesses in Canada? We can become the conduit to both markets, working our magic as a multicultural country, encouraging immigrants and wanting to rely less upon America. We have systems in place that work and guarantee the quality of the end product whether it is animals or crops, intellectual property or machined goods. Our federal government is working to improve our trade relations and Mr. Harper’s last trip was to establish a framework for Canada to become one of the few places on the planet (London and Singapore are among them) where Chinese yuan can be converted without using US dollars as the standard.

We are at the starting square in a game of snakes and ladders. Put on your thinking caps and start learning about China. The path can be a slippery slope or just a missed opportunity. The better way is up. The next few years are going to be truly interesting for those who embrace the opportunity.